Steak Dipping Sauce (Cowboy Butter!)

Name: Steak Dipping Sauce (Cowboy Butter!)
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 4 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 250 gram (1 stick) of unsalted butter ((£1.69)); 3 cloves of garlic, minced ((£0.39)); 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped ((£0.60)); Juice of ¼ lemon ((£0.30)); 2 tbsp hot sauce; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Use this cowboy butter steak dipping sauce to instantly enhance the juiciness and flavor of any steak! You can use it on more than just steak though. Try it with chicken, pork, or even shrimp for any weeknight meal. When I’m making this dipping sauce for steak, my Airfryer Ribeye Steak is always my go-to.

A small patterned turquiose blue blue and white bowl with melted butter and chopped herbs with a spoon.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

✅ Recipe Name: Steak Dipping Sauce (Cowboy Butter!)
🕦 Ready in: 5 minutes
🤝 Serves: 10
🍴 Calories: 190kcal
🧑‍🍳 Main ingredients: unsalted butter, garlic, fresh chives, hot sauce
✨ Summary: Cowboy butter steak dipping sauce is easy to make and will be your new favorite homemade substitute for steak sauce.

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Why you’ll love this recipe

Versatile: Use this steak dipping sauce on anything from dipping bread to meat to veggies.
Bold flavors: My steak dipping sauce recipe is bright, mildly spicy, herby, garlicky – so unbelievably good.
Simple to make: The cowboy butter dipping sauce comes together in less than 5 minutes, so you can whip it up whilst letting your steak rest. Flavor and efficiency – a winning combo!

Use this dipping sauce with one of these recipes: Air Fryer Shrimp, Air Fryer Steak Bites or Slow Cooker Gammon Joint.

Table of Contents

Ingredients

Unsalted butter: I like to use unsalted butter for my steak dipping sauce as you want to adjust the level of salt yourself. We’re adding other ingredients such as hot sauce which also has salt, so it’s better if we can control the salt levels in the other ingredients! If you want to make you own butter for the best steak dipping sauce, see my homemade butter recipe.
Fresh chives: I love fresh chives in my cowboy sauce but you could add fresh coriander or fresh parsley. Both would work really well.
Hot sauce: I use Cholula hot sauce in this dipping sauce for steak bites, but feel free to use your favourite Mexican style hot sauce. An Asian hot sauce wouldn’t be authentic to this recipe but you could try it out!

See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.

Variations/ Adaptations

As this recipe yields a fair amount of cowboy steak sauce (leaving some for leftovers!), it’s good to know that you don’t have to just pair it with steak. It works with a variety of proteins and vegetables.

Protein pairings: Pan-fried fish such as fried sea-bass or cod, turkey steak, pork chops, chicken breast. Pretty much any protein would work well with this steak dipping sauce, except maybe ground meats.
Vegetables: Try the steak dip with roasted tenderstem broccoli, steamed/grilled asparagus, roasted bell peppers, roasted zucchini and eggplant, and roasted tomatoes.
Substitutions: As mentioned above, you can sub out or even just add more of your favourite types of fresh herbs into this. In a pinch, you could also sub the fresh chives for ½ tsp dried chives. Customize the hot sauce to your heat and flavour preference too. For a great alternative, try my compound butter for steak.

How to make Cowboy Butter Steak Dipping Sauce

Add the butter to a small saucepan over a low heat (Image 1).
Heat for around 2 minutes until melted (Image 2).

2 step by step photos, the first with a rectangular piece of butter in a pan and the second with the butter now melted in the pan.

3. Next, add the garlic, smoked paprika, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce (Image 3).

4. Whisk to combine and cook for a further 2 minutes (Image 4).

2 step by step photos, the first with melted butter and some paprika sprinkled in a pan and the second with the butter now mixed together with a whisk and some hot sauce being poured in.

5. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and fresh chives whilst continuously stirring. Season with a few generous pinches of salt (around 1 tsp of flakey salt or ½ tsp table salt) (Image 5).

6. Taste to adjust seasoning (add more salt or more hot sauce for heat). Serve in a dipping bowl and enjoy! (Image 6).

2 step by step photos, the first with melted butter with herbs and a whisk in a pan and the second with 2 hands squizzing some lemon over the pan with a whisk.

Pair this dipping sauce with my Air Fryer Ribeye Steak (see photo below).

Sliced of cooked, medium rare steak laid out decorativelyly on a plate and some herby butter drizzled over the centre.

Tips for the best result

Ensure that the heat of your hob isn’t too high as we don’t want to brown the butter.
Get all of your ingredients out and chop your herbs before you start cooking as it all comes together very quickly.
Season the steak dipping sauce liberally with salt. Because we’re dealing with a lot of butter, we need to match that with the seasoning!

What is the best dipping sauce for steak?

When it comes to choosing the best dipping sauce for steak, you want something that enhances the natural flavour of the meat rather than overpowering it. Butter-based steak sauce recipes are especially popular because they add richness while keeping the steak juicy and tender. Depending on what meat you have and how you’re serving it, my Low Sugar BBQ Sauce Recipe could be a great healthier option.

A great steak dipping sauce usually includes a balance of fat, acidity, and aromatics (think garlic, fresh herbs, a little heat, and a splash of lemon or vinegar to cut through the richness). This combination complements everything from ribeye and sirloin to steak bites and grilled flank steak.

That’s why cowboy butter has become such a favourite!! This garlic-herb butter works as both a finishing sauce and a dipping sauce for steak, adding flavour without masking the taste of the beef. It’s simple, versatile & easy enough to make while your steak rests.

Now for something fancier, make sure to try My Secret Peppercorn Sauce for Steak as well!!

Serving Suggestions

I love to pair my steak dipping sauce with ribeye steak or a nice carb, depending on whether I have time to whack on the BBQ and on how healthy I want to be.

Try it with:

Storage Suggestions

Refrigerator: Store the steak bites dipping sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Freezer: You can freeze this for up to 3 months. When ready to eat the steak dipping sauce, defrost in the fridge overnight.

Perfect for making individual servings in an ice cube tray: This is ideal when you’re cooking solo rather than for a crowd. Once you pour the butter into the tray, place the tray inside a ziplock back and close (whilst still keeping it flat). This will prevent water from entering!

A small patterned turquiose blue blue and white bowl with melted butter and chopped herbs with a hand with red nail varnish holding a spoon next to a chopping board with some chilli flakes and a jar.

Here are some other dishes that will pair well with the dipping sauce: Chicken Patties, Crispy Smashed Broccoli with Parmesan served with Crispy Homemade Oven Chips.

FAQs

Is hot sauce necessary in a steak dipping sauce?

You can leave out the hot sauce but if it’s a question of reducing the spice, try to opt for a hot sauce that’s just not spicy rather than omitting completely as it adds a lot of flavour. If you are leaving out, add a little more garlic, lemon and red pepper flakes to ensure you get the enough flavour to be the best steak bite dipping sauce.

Do you need to melt the butter for steak dipping sauce?

Yes! This helps to incorporate all of the ingredients evenly. And as this is a steak dipping sauce recipe, we need it to be liquid for dipping purposes.

Why does my butter sauce separate and how can I fix it?

This happens when adding a water-based liquid into a fat which would be the lemon juice or hot sauce. To prevent this, pour the liquids in super slowly to the melted butter whilst continuously stirring. With this recipe though, I’ve never found that it’s split as there’s a great ratio of fat to liquid.

What can you dip steak in besides steak sauce?

While traditional bottled steak sauce is popular, lots of people prefer homemade options that enhance rather than cover the flavor of the meat. Garlic butter, chimichurri, peppercorn sauce, and cowboy butter are all excellent dipping sauces for steak because they add richness & freshness without overpowering the beef.

Can I use this cowboy butter as a dipping sauce for steak bites?

Yes, definitely! This recipe works especially well as a steak bite dipping sauce. The melted butter coats smaller pieces of steak evenly, making it perfect for appetizers, air fryer steak bites, or sharing platters.